Electro-Voice’ Helps Solve Acoustic Problems at Top UK Hotel

June 14th, 2005

The loading and unloading of vehicles for exhibitions at the Metropole is strictly controlled to certain hours of the day, but evening functions, with either DJs or live bands, have caused complaints from some local residents. Local acoustic specialists 24Acoustics and Big Sky Audio were called in to work with the local authorities and sound installation company Xtreme Audio Visual to find a solution.

Following analysis, it was concluded that the only way the hotel could ensure absolute control of the noise within its largest exhibition hall was to install a house PA system. Future calculations for sound isolation within the structure could then be based on a known and predictable system, with built-in limiting to ensure maximum permissible levels would not be exceeded.

“A house system with a gentle compression that only comes in when it is needed is an elegant solution,“ says acoustic consultant Richard Vivian of Big Sky Audio. “Not only can we control the maximum level, we can control the room interaction (all the speaker positions are fixed and mechanically isolated), and we can be sympathetic to the structure’s behavior by using subtle EQ that does not detract significantly from the system performance, but also does not cause the neighbors to complain.“

The equipment needed to be installed within strict time constraints imposed by Hilton.

System installer Craig Wiggins of Xtreme AV specified Electro-Voice QRx(H)212 loudspeakers for this project. “The brief was for a compact high-power box, operating from six positions to cover the whole of the floor area in a very large room. I have used EV’s QRx loudspeakers before and have been very pleased with the results. The rotatable horn offers very useable coverage pattern and the box is easy to fly without having to resort to bulky flyware.“